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Monday, December 30, 2013

As the time ticks down on 2013, its time to look back on the many events out there that we talked about. There were some great moments, there were some not so great moments. Here are my top 10 "local" moments counting down from 10-1. If you don't know what number 1 is, I feel sorry for you. Here we go.

10: JILL SHUMAY CAPTURES PROVINCIAL SCOTTIES

The 2013 provincial Scotties Tournament of Hearts went in Balgonie. The field was a great one led by Stefanie Lawton, defending provincial champ Michelle Englot and former Canadian champ Amber Holland. I had been asked earlier by both Access and the Saskatchewan Curling Association to do play-by-play of the provincial semi and final so I headed out to Balgonie on night one to check things out. On that night, a rink out of Maidstone skipped by Jill Shumay beat Englot and her rink looked damn good in doing so. I asked her after the game if she considered it to be an upset considering Michelle's resume and she calmly replied no because I feel my rink is just as good as everyone else's. She was right! Shumay breezed through the event losing only once and that was in the 1-2 game to Lawton. She rebounded by beating Holland 8-3 in the semi and then took her first provincial title with an 8-7 win. At the Scotties, she finished an impressive 6-5. Shumay is back to defend her crown in Tisdale in just a couple of weeks and while the other big names are there as well, Shumay has shown you can put her in that class of being one of Saskatchewan's top rinks.

9. SHOLO LEAVES FOR OTTAWA
The Ottawa Redblacks will become the CFL's 9th team when the 2014 season starts. Less than a month after the Grey Cup, the team had a chance to pick through the rosters of the other teams grabbing unprotected players to help them form their initial roster. Each team would lose one import player and two Canadians. With the Canadian talent on the Riders side of the ball, many Rider fans had come to the cruel reality that an impact player was going to be leaving. You could only protect six Canadians and there were many more than six quality Canadians on the roster. I don't think it would have mattered who Ottawa took, it would have left the Rider Nation reeling from a punch in the gut and when the choice was made, the punch followed. Six year vet Keith Shologan, arguably the best Canadian interior lineman in the CFL if not the best period, had been selected. GM Brendan Taman admitted after he rolled the dice on Shologan hoping his big contract would deter the Redblacks from taking him. That didn't happen. As tough as it was for many, including myself, to see Sholo leave, I could at least take solace knowing as one of the guys who went through the 2009 Grey Cup nightmare that he had his championship. I would love to see Taman try to get Shologan back here, but he seemingly made it clear hours later on "The Sportscage" the team was going to go American at that spot.

8. PAT CONACHER SAYS GOODBYE

The Regina Pats took a step backwards in the 2012-13 season. After being named the WHL Eastern Conference coach of the year and guiding his team to the playoffs, Pat Conacher could seemingly not get the same effort out of his troops as they finished out of the playoffs with a record of 25-38-4-5. It added to what has become a very rocky relationship between the hockey fan and the organization who have gotten tired of watching a team that isn't making very many playoff appearances. With one year left on his contract, Conacher resigned his position. The Pats did not go on a head coach search though as at the same time GM Chad Lang announced Conacher's departure, he announced assistant coach Malcolm Cameron would assume head coaching duties. Thanks to the play of Calgary Flames first round draft pick Morgan Klimchuk and 20 year old forward Boston Leier acquired in a trade with Medicine Hat, the Pats look as if they are ready to re-enter the playoffs and perhaps go in as an Eastern Division champion as they are on the heels of division leading Swift Current.

7. SASKATOON HOCKEY FANS SEND MESSAGE TO BLADES AT WRONG TIME

The 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup was played in Saskatoon. The hometown Blades were expected to compete for a national championship and GM and Head Coach Lorne Molleken made the moves he felt were needed to have the team in position to take a good run at the WHL championship and the Memorial Cup which is something the Blades have never won. The team went on an 18 game unbeaten streak late in the season having Saskatoon hockey fans feeling pretty good about their team----and then the playoffs hit. The Blades were swept out of the first round by the Medicine Hat Tigers and that had hockey fans irate. They wanted Molleken out of town on the first rail car and when the tournament opened up, there were many empty seats at Credit Union Centre much to the chagrin of the Blades and the Canadian Hockey League. Many were not happy with the fact the CHL's marquee event was being played with a lot of empty seats being seen by a national TV audience. It appeared to many as if the Saskatoon hockey fan was snubbing their nose at not only the Blades, but the tournament itself as a message of what had happened in the playoffs. It was not a good sight. Thankfully, the people of Saskatoon came through at the end as the final game between the Halifax Mooseheads and Portland WinterHawks was sold out and what a game those people saw. Both teams brought their "A" games and the top players for both teams showed why as the Mooseheads beat Portland 6-4 to take the title and end what was a very controversial week in the Bridge City.

6. MARK MCMORRIS HITS THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

Canada's top snowboarder is from Saskatchewan. Mark McMorris established himself as one of the world's best in 2013 and is a legitimate threat to be an Olympic gold medallist in Sochi. McMorris had a tremendous 2013 in which he won a gold and a silver at the Winter X games while winning a silver at the world championships. If people started to notice him in 2012, they have certainly realized what he is all about and what he can do now. The sky is the limit for McMorris and we anxiously await what he does at the Winter Olympics

5. WHAT A START!!

It had been a long time since someone coming from Saskatchewan had played in the major leagues. The last guy to do it was Melville's Terry Puhl until the night of August 6. On that night, Andrew Albers of North Battleford took the mound for the Minnesota Twins at Kansas City and stifled the Royals. allowing no runs on just four hits in eight and a third innings. Six nights later, he took the mound at Target Field and showed that debut was no fluke as he went up against the Cleveland Indians. In what was Minnesota's shortest game of the year, he came off the mound 2 hours and 22 minutes after the game had started pitching a complete game two hitter. No Minnesota starting pitcher had ever had the start to his major league career that Albers had. While Albers finished the year at 2-5 with an ERA of just over four, he impressed the Twins brass and will likely start 2014 with the Twins as their 4th starter.

4. HELLO GOLF WORLD, MY NAME IS GRAHAM!

The sporting community in Weyburn has to say there has never been a better year for them than 2013. The only thing that didn't happen to the city southeast of Regina is the Weyburn Red Wings didn't win the RBC Cup. You have first round NHL draft pick Derrick Pouliot--who is with Portland and was on that Winterhawks team that lost to Halifax in the Memorial Cup final and is in Sweden right now with the Canadian juniors. You have CFL rookie of the year Brett Jones and the CFL's top offensive lineman in Brendon Labatte. You also have the distinction of being the hometown of a guy who is and should be Canada's top golfer for many years---Graham DeLaet, His first real season on the PGA Tour was a tremendous one----one that saw him do many things except get his name on a first place cheque.

In 2013, DeLaet played 26 PGA events. He made the cut in 21 of them and finished in the top 25 12 times and the top 10 7 times. DeLaet made the FedEx Cup which consists of the elite on Tour and in the first two tournaments---the Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship---he finished tied for 2nd and 3rd respectively. He received an invite to play in the British Open and he was a member of the World team at the Presidents Cup. Oh yeah, he also made 2.8 million dollars. As mentioned, DeLaet did not win a tournament in 2013, but one has to think he is on the verge of doing so in 2014.

3. THUNDER WIN FIRST EVER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

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Since coming into existence once the Regina Rams joined the University ranks. the Regina Thunder had never won a Prairie Football Conference Championship. They had many opportunities to do so, but they could never seemingly get past the Saskatoon Hilltops. In 2012, the Thunder surprised the heavily favoured and unbeaten Calgary Colts in the semi-final, but they couldn't beat the Toppers who went on to the Canadian Bowl. In the off-season, the team made a change as long time coach Erwin Klempner stepped down with Scott MacAulay taking over. McAulay was no stranger to the Thunder as he was an assistant coach under Klempner and had worked for years with the Rams along with playing for them. Was McAulay the guy to take them over the top? The answer was an astounding yes! The Thunder finished the regular season with a record of 5-2-1, but they went to Saaskatoon for the PFC final and beat the Hilltops 21-16 to advance to the Canadian championship against the Vancouver Island Raiders.

On a chilly Saturday afternoon at Mosaic Stadium with many in attendance and many watching live on Access 7, the Thunder made McAulay's first year as head coach as magical one as they dominated the BC champs 55-26 to take the crown. Quarterback Asher Hastings had a tremendous day tying a Canadian bowl record with 5 touchdown passes while throwing for 377 yards.

The Thunder had truly arrived.

2. ONE WIN AWAY

The U of R Cougars were hoping having a home crowd behind them could propel them to a CIS national womens basketball championship. The Cougars had hosted the tournament before only to be beaten by #1 Simon Fraser in the final. It was thought by many the team had a great shot to win the Bronze Baby at the CKHS in front of a hometown crowd. They were once again one win away.

Dave Taylor's squad opened up the tournament beating McGill thanks to a 68-53 win over McGill. In the national semi-final, you could not jam another body into the gym as the Cougars battled Atlantic champion St. Mary's and it was simply the Brittany Read show. The 5th year forward almost single-handedly won the game for Regina as she scored 24 points to go along with a record 29 rebounds in a convincing 78-49 victory.

The only thing standing in the way of the Cougars winning it all was the University of Windsor. After a close first quarter, the Lancers dominated the 2nd and took a nine point lead. They withstood a couple of late charges from the Cougars and went on to win 66-57 to make it back to back national titles.

1. #DARIANSFAULT

Is there any doubt as what number one was going to be? When the Saskatchewan Roughriders were awarded the 2013 Grey Cup game, the organization knew it had some work in front of them. After Grey Cup appearances in 2009 and 2010, the team went downhill in 2011. CEO Jim Hopson had a vision of celebrating a CFL championship in front of the Rider Nation, but a lot of blood, sweat and tears would have to be put into making it happen. The team lost a heartbreaking Western semi-final in Calgary in 2012 and from the moment the team walked off the field, head coach Corey Chamblin knew his team had to get better on defense.

They went out and signed controversial free agent defensive back Dwight Anderson, they signed free agent defensive end Ricky Foley, they signed free agent linebacker/defensive back Weldon Brown and just as training camp started, former Rider John Chick returned from the NFL. On offense, they added the wizardry of offensive co-ordinator George Cortez and perhaps the CFL's greatest all-time receiver Geroy Simon who asked to come to Regina via trade after being released by BC saying this was the team that gave him the best shot at being a Grey Cup champ again.

The team roared out to a 5-0 start with Darian Durant and Kory Sheets putting up incredible numbers. The province was ecstatic and the mood remained that way until the Banjo Bowl when the Bombers beat Saskatchewan to start the green-and-white on a four game losing skid. In the midst of that skid, Sheets suffered a knee injury derailing what looked to be a record season for yards gained, a vocal minority of fans blamed Durant for the team's failure to score touchdowns with many wondering why Simon was around if he wasn't going to be a part of the offense. The wheels were falling off and people were jumping off the bandwagon. It got so bad that a Twitter hashtag of #dariansfault started for things out of the QB's control like a train crossing the Ring Road or the price of gas going up.

Sheets returned to the lineup for a big game in BC---one that would determine whether or not the Riders would host a playoff game. They won that game and ended up finishing 2nd in the West with a record of 11-7. Thanks to Durant's efforts running and throwing the football, the Riders beat BC to advance to the West final against their hated rivals---the Calgary Stampeders. It was no contest! Durant threw for three touchdowns while Sheets ran for 177 yards in a game that was over by halftime. The Riders were coming home to play in the 101st Grey Cup having beat the Stamps 35-13. They were right where they wanted to be, but they had one game left and what a game it would be. The Riders would play the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a dream matchup. Kent Austin, the man who quarterbacked the Riders to the 89 championship and coached them to an 07 title, was now the head coach of the Ti-Cats. He had never lost a playoff game. His quarterback was Henry Burris---still public enemy #1 in Riderville after leaving the team many years ago and his favourite target was receiver Andy Fantuz who spurned the Rider Nation to head home. There were so many storylines, but only one was front and center and that was winning.

If anyone had any doubts as to whether or not the Riders would win, it was perhaps erased when Sheets grabbed a Durant fumble in mid-air and ran 39 yards with it. In fact, if you want to re-live it, do so as it was heard across Saskatchewan on the mighty CKRM with Rod Pedersen and Carm Carteri.

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That's my recap of 2013. Did I miss anything? What does 2014 have in store for us? I have no idea, but I'm sure there will be more than enough to talk about on both a local and national basis to keep us occupied.

Happy New Year everyone! Thank you for checking out this blog in 2013. There were over 190-thousand page views putting the total to over 1.3 million since I started doing this. Thank you again!

Chicago Blackhawks left wing Patrick Sharp, Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller and Pittsburgh Penguins left wing James Neal have been named the NHL's "Three Stars" for the week ending Dec. 29.

FIRST STAR – PATRICK SHARP, LW, CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS Sharp led the NHL with six goals and tied for second with seven points as the Blackhawks (27-7-7, 61 points) earned five out of a possible six points to maintain first place in the Central Division. He began the week by scoring two goals in a 5-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils Dec. 23. Celebrating his 32nd birthday, Sharp (3-1—4) recorded his third career hat trick, including the game-winning goal, in a 7-2 triumph over the Colorado Avalanche Dec. 27 to become the first player in Blackhawks history – and second NHLer in the last 22 seasons (Pavol Demitra: Nov. 29, 2002) – to post three goals on his birthday. He capped the week by scoring his 22nd goal of the season, tied for fourth in the League, in a 6-5 shootout loss to the St. Louis Blues Dec. 28. Sharp ranks second on the Blackhawks and tied for eighth in the NHL with 22-19—41 in 41 games this season, including 11-6—17 in his past 10 outings.

SECOND STAR – RYAN MILLER, G, BUFFALO SABRES Miller posted a 2-0-1 record with a 1.55 goals-against average and .961 save percentage to help the Sabres (11-24-4, 26 points) gain five out of a possible six points. He opened the week with 36 saves in a 2-1 overtime victory against the Phoenix Coyotes Dec. 23. He then recorded 39 saves, plus another two in the shootout, in a 4-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Dec. 27. Miller finished the week with a career-high 49 saves and stopped all six shootout attempts in a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals Dec. 29, improving to 3-0-0 all-time in games in which he has faced 50 or more shots (also Jan. 8, 2010: 48 saves on 50 shots; Nov. 5, 2013: 47 saves on 51 shots). The 33-year-old East Lansing, Mich., native has played in 28 games this season, posting a 10-17-1 record with a 2.69 goals-against average and .927 save percentage.

THIRD STAR – JAMES NEAL, LW, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS Neal (4-4—8) led the League with eight points as the Penguins (29-11-1, 59 points) won two of three games to remain in first place in the Eastern Conference. He was held off the scoresheet in a 5-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators Dec. 23, but broke out with 1-2—3, including the overtime winner, in a 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes Dec. 27. Neal (3-2—5) then recorded his fourth career hat trick and first five-point game in a 5-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets Dec. 29. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he also became the first Penguins player to register at least five points in a game in which he factored all of his team's goals since Jan. 19, 2010, when Sidney Crosby posted 2-4—6 in a 6-4 triumph over the New York Islanders. The 26-year-old Whitby, Ont., native has played in 21 games this season, totaling 14 16—30, including 13-14—27 in his past 15 outings.

Sunday, December 29, 2013

I wasn't going to do one today, but I felt compelled to do so. Pedersen always tells me some days he doesn't feel like blogging, but its become like a job to him because so many expect postings and he has advertisers to honor. I don't have any advertisers (albeit I would take some) and I completely realize he gets about 10 times the readership as I do, but there was just too much on the old mind to save it for later.

I guess I'll start with Saturday's loss to the Czechs at the World Juniors. Has the old "we don't have dominant goaltending" story started to surface again? We produce all-star forwards in this country and we produce all-star defensemen, but we don't produce great goalies. It also bothers me somewhat the kid from the Czechs plays in Medicine Hat as he is developing his game at the cost of some Canadian kid, but that loophole is about to close. Jake Paterson did not look very good so lets see what Zach Fucale can do. People are jumping off the cliff after that loss, but there is still a long ways to go in the tournament. A win over the US on December 31 would be nice though. Sportsnet's Sam Cosentino said before the tournament started it would be tough for the Canadians to get on the podium because of teams like the Americans, Russians and host Swedes. He said it would be a monumental effort to get gold. He appears to be right early on.

Someone needs to explain to me how Czech defenseman Michal Plutnar gets away with only a two minute penalty for running over the linesman at the end of the 2nd period of the Canada game. Yes, Connor MacDavid was in the wrong for shooting the puck at the goalie after the buzzer, but you can't mow over the linesman (even though it was highly entertaining to see). I just wonder what would have happened had that been a Canadian player doing that.

Since when did this country become a tennis country? Milos Raonic as the male athlete of the year bothered me a little considering I thought people like Graham DeLaet and Jon Cornish were far more deserving and now some tennis player I have honestly never heard of wins the female athlete of the year award. I didn't know who Eugenie Bouchard was until I saw the story come across the wire. Did everyone seemingly forget about Humboldt's Brianne Thiessen-Eaton who finished 2nd at the World Championships in the heptathlon along with winning the NCAA heptathlon title both indoors and outdoors. If I had a vote, I don't know if Raonic or Bouchard would have even gotten on my ballot. Somewhere my "Locker Talk" co-host and avid tennis player Pete Paczko cringes.

Tim Hortons sells reusable cup sleeves for 99 cents. CMON!!! Other places can give you cardboard sleeves for free and you can't. How many of those sleeves are purchased and then accidentally thrown away. What a cash grab!

I'll be publishing the top 10 local stories in my mind before the year is over, but I started wondering about the top 10 stories overall in the world of sports this year. It certainly doesn't compare to what TSN gave us. In no particular order, I would say these are my top ten stories of the year

1. Riders win 101st Grey Cup with the Rider Nation right there to see it all
2. The tragedy of the Boston Marathon and how the Boston Red Sox helped the city heal
3. Lance Armstrong comes clean and confesses his guilt after years of not doing so
4. A half a season without NHL Hockey
5. The failure of the Toronto Blue Jays
6. Jon Cornish wins the CFL MOP becoming first Canadian to do so in years
7. The Super Bowl blackout
8. The Manti Teo story
9. The Blackhawks avoid a Game 7 in SC Final with a stunning Game 6 victory
10. The retirement of Mariano Rivera and his final appearance at the All-Star game

Feel free to add any story of national value that you think I missed.

Connor Knapp is a goaltender in the Buffalo Sabres system. He plays for Greenville in the ECHL. He snapped this photo after Saturday's game with the caption "OUCH"!

No kidding!!

Speaking of which, how was your weekend Anderson Silva? I did not see the PPV with my gang of friendly neanderthals, but I can only imagine how that scene would have played itself out. I did see the video though. YUCK!!!!

The last weekend of the NFL season brought the drama you knew it would. How about Aaron Rodgers and the Packers? How about Kyle Orton doing his best Romo imitation at the end? How about the Dolphins blowing a golden opportunity and the Chargers just about blowing one. The playoffs are going to be very interesting. They will start Saturday with the Chargers in Cincinnati in the AFC with Indy taking on Kansas City Sunday. The winners will meet Denver and New England. In the NFC, Seattle and Carolina have first round byes with the Saints taking on Philly and San Francisco at Green Bay on Sunday. How good of a game will that be? In the end, I will say the Seahawks will be taking on the Patriots at MetLife Stadium in the Super Bowl.

Its Black Monday in the NFL as a lot of head coaches will be fired. Before New Years, I say Jim Schwartz (Detroit), Leslie Frazier (Minnesota), Rob Chudzinski (Cleveland) and Mike Shanahan (Washington) will be gone as will Joe Philbin (Miami) and Jason Garrett (Dallas). Don't be surprised to see Shanahan end up in Miami.

Why don't women understand men's fascination with bacon? Is it the same reason we don't understand womens fascination with shoes?

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Not only are the Saskatchewan Roughriders CFL champions for the 4th time in history, but they have been voted as the number one team in Canada by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The Riders took 28 percent of the vote to edge out Canada's Davis Cup tennis team and the Vanier Cup champion Laval Rouge et Or to take the honour.

As you all know, the Riders beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23 at Mosaic Stadium November 24 in front of almost 45-thousand people.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

The last "This and That" for 2013. Where did the year go? I will be giving a Top 10 moments from yours truly sometime before January 1 and it won't be the horsecrap TSN gave us. Who does their top 10 stories and their top 100 bloopers and plays of the year.

Say what you will about him, but the fact Jon Cornish won Canada's male athlete of the year award and was the first CFL'er to do that in many years deserved a spot on the top 10 stories of the year. Was the emergence of Canadian Anthony Bennett as the #1 pick in the NBA draft really a top 10 story of the year? Was the Leafs mammoth Game 7 collapse to the Bruins really the number 2 story of the year amongst Canadians. Cmon!!!! Don't feed me that stuff!

We then go to the top 100 plays of the year. There were a lot of great plays in the CFL, but I didn't see a lot of them in the top 100. Am I just being overly biased or is the Darian Durant fumble that went right into the hands of Kory Sheets for a big gain at GC 101 not one of the top plays of the year. How can the missed snap by Henry Burris and the utter look of confusion from Hank not be in the top 100 bloopers of the year. I really thought TSN missed the boat on the CFL for some inane reason. Oh well!

If I am going to roast TSN on their plays of the year, I will compliment on their hockey coverage and they have brought their Grade "A" game with them to Sweden for the World Junior Hockey Championship. Its an event they will be hanging their hockey hat onto for the next several years seeing the NHL and Rogers have basically shut them out of the equation. They always do a great job in breaking this event down and they arguably may be the reason this tournament gets the amount of press it does these days. This year is no different. That being said, I did not get up at 730 on Boxing Day morning to watch the game against Germany. Its Germany! If they can't win that game in one-sided fashion then we are in trouble. I'll watch the repeat.

Am I the only one who didn't hear the massive explosion at the refinery on Xmas Eve? If the truth be told, no I wasn't the only one because those in a south end grocery store didn't hear it either. After dropping off some gifts, the little Scruffette and I had to pick some stuff up at the request of Mrs. Scruffy. We did that and when we came out to our car, nothing had changed but I did notice some people looking towards the upgrader and talking. Moments later, my "tire pressure" light came on in my car and moments after that I discovered I had run over something and had a big-time flat tire. A quick fill of that tire managed to get me home without problem and that's when Mrs. Scruffy told me about this great big boom. It wasn't until I saw Jill Morgan at 5 doing the CBC news that I realized what had happened. Thank god to all involved this wasn't more serious. We don't need something like that especially on Xmas Eve. Can we all just agree that we might have seen a Christmas miracle!

How much turkey is too much? You have your fill of bird for Xmas dinner and then you have leftovers on Boxing Day for lunch, but after that can one expect to have turkey again for supper. I'm not one for the same thing three meals in a row. That being said, I could go for a re-do of bacon and scallops. If one can o-d on that, I definitely can.

Watching the Little Caesars Bowl from Detroit on Boxing Day, the kicker for the University of Pittsburgh had the last name of "Blewitt". Is that the name you really want for a kicker?!

Tony Romo likely won't play for the Cowboys in a must win game and Aaron Rodgers will play for the Packers in a must-win game. I bet NBC is wishing they wouldn't have been so quick on the trigger as to what game they wanted Sunday night. The Bears-Packers game should be a great tilt. I don't think the Eagles-Cowboys game will and I'd have said that with Romo playing.

Week 17 NFL Lock of The Week ---Eagles over Cowboys
Week 17 NFL Upset of The Week ---Buccaneers over Saints

The fan throwing his Oilers jersey onto the ice after Saturday's 6-0 beating at the hands of the St. Louis Blues has the organization and a lot of people talking in Edmonton. Head coach Dallas Eakins certainly let the fan in question have it with his comments and there is a clear sign now the fans aren't happy with the lack of movement this team has. I surely can't be the only one to see the constant in all of this has been Kevin Lowe. Why is he still employed? Lowe has been a failure and many moves made have been a failure. I even believe its time to get rid of one of the young guns in a trade. I don't want Taylor Hall or Jordan Eberle to go, but I do believe the team could get a good deal for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. I still say drafting Nail Yakupov ahead of Ryan Murray was a huge mistake and that it hurt the team in its rebuilding efforts. This team has to start doing something and it has to begin right now. There is no way the Oilers are making the playoffs this year much to the disgust of many including myself but they have to start building for next year right now. An off-season of roster movement won't do it now. Start finding some bodies, get them playing together so they are ready to roll going into 2014-2015.

I have talked about a lack of fan support at Pats games this year. I guess its all over the WHL. I was surprised to see league attendance is down 13 percent from this Christmas break to last one.

Western bias and Saskatchewan bias is showing again, but I would vote Graham DeLaet a thousand times over for Canadian male athlete of the year ahead of Milos Raonic.

Does the NBA basically owning Christmas Day do anything positive for the league? I saw perhaps 10 minutes of the 5 games shown yesterday, but I am guessing there are many who watched every game or at least had the TV onto that channel.

A big thumbs up to radio stations like "THE WOLF" for playing the music they play 365 days a year on Xmas Day. Yes, there were some Xmas tunes sprinkled in, but it wasn't all Xmas music. There's only so much Xmas tunes one can take.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Hey Santa! The usual
deal is on this year. The vodka and Toffifee will be on the kitchen table.
Please make sure the reindeer don't do what they did last year in the backyard.
With all the snow we got, I didn't find that stuff until the spring. OK,
I know some of the requests are a little out there and you may not be able to
get them done, but can you try.

I don't have to really
ask you for anything when it comes to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. You gave
them and many others what we wanted at Mosaic Stadium on that late November
evening. I'm sure you will be stopping in at the Taman residence and the Durant
residence, but really I think we all know they have their gift already. By the
way, thanks on helping out with that. You put a smile on a lot of faces and
that smile won't be disappearing for a long time.

To the Ottawa
REDBLACKS----Success so that we don't have to worry about this Ottawa team
folding up shop and while we're at it, lets find a way to get a 10th team in
the Maritimes. Methinks that is the only way the Rider Nation will ever get to
experience the East Coast because no team wants to give up a home gate when the
/=S=/ is involved. I can't blame them, but the Atlantic experience would be
something to cherish.

To long time CFL
quarterback Kerry Joseph----that you take over for Khari Jones as quarterbacks
coach in Riderville. I think that would be a great move for everyone involved.

To my long time
friends Rod Pedersen and Peter Loubardias ---that this new Rogers/NHL deal
somehow finds a way to get both of these gentlemen involved somehow doing what
they love to do on a national basis. They really should be doing that now
Santa!

To Seattle Seahawks
punter Jon Ryan ---that you are in MetLife Stadium at the beginning of February
celebrating a Super Bowl victory. Santa, if that one should come true, yours
truly will be a mess for a couple of days after. I'm just sayin!

To Canadian Sports
Viewers ---the ability to watch both ESPN and Fox Sports One from the comforts
of our living room. I know you have probably received the same request from
your good buddy Rob Vanstone. We're serious!!

To Weyburn golfer
Graham DeLaet ---- a couple of PGA titles and some first place cheques. Its so
close to happening now.

I would ask you to
please do something for the Edmonton Oilers, but why bother. They are that
bad!!! However beating Winnipeg 6-2 was a pleasant thing to see. You can always
seemingly count on Edmonton to beat the Jets no matter what! BA HA HA!!

To Regina Thunder Head
Coach Scott MacAulay --- a book called "If I Impressed You In
Year 1, wait for Year 2"

To former U of R
womens basketball player Crystal McGregor and to local wrestling icon John
Cozman----to kick the living hell out of the cancer you are fighting and that
you win the battle you are in. I am rooting for both of you and really to
everyone who has gotten that damn disease.

To Cougar womens
basketball coach Dave Taylor and the rest of his team---that you win that
National title that I really thought you were going to win on your home floor
last year. If you want to throw in a Jacoby Ellsbury Yankees jersey for Dave
too that would be cool.

To U of R sports information officer Braden
Konschuh ---a bigger paycheque or at least some help. He is the best at what he
does at the University level, and the race isn’t even close.

To the owners of Jack
Keatons restaurant----a second location that is closer to Casa de Scruffy. As
much as I love that place, I just don't get up into that end of town very
often.

To local snowboarder
Mark McMorris---this one is easy-----Olympic gold!

To fellow CKRM
employee and Pats play by play guy Phil Andrews. A chance to do some 2nd round
WHL playoff games. Yes Phil, there is a 2nd round!!

To the programming
gurus at Access Communications, if you can do "Lamb of Love" and
"Velocity", you can certainly have "PACZKO". If people will
watch Polkarama, they will watch this. DO IT!!!!

I could go on Santa.
but its getting late and I know you have to get out there and do your thing. As
always, safe journeys tonight and once again, please make sure the reindeer
don't do a repeat act from last year. Merry Christmas to you and all of
you who read this blog on a daily basis. I still think it shows you have too
much time on your hands when you come to this page, but I still do offer my
thanks!

Monday, December 23, 2013

The BC Lions Football Club announced Monday morning that Khari Jones has been named the club's offensive coordinator.

"Khari is a young, fresh football mind that brings a key combination of significant playing and coaching experience to the role of offensive coordinator," said head coach Mike Benevides "After a number of conversations with Khari over the past couple of weeks, I am very excited about the offensive concepts he will bring to our offence and how they will translate on the field."

Jones joins the Lions coaching staff following a championship season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders where he served in a key role as quarterbacks coach for the past two years helping guide Darian Durant to his first career title run this past November. Durant also led the CFL in TD passes in 2013 and ranked third in quarterback efficiency behind only Ricky Ray and Kevin Glenn.

Prior to his two years in Saskatchewan, Jones was the offensive coordinator in Hamilton in 2011 where he originally began his post-playing and broadcasting career in 2009 as the Tiger-Cats' quarterbacks coach. Under his guidance in 2010, then-quarterback Kevin Glenn threw for a career-best 5,102 yards and a team-record 33 touchdowns.

"It's an honour to return to the same organization that gave me an opportunity to play in this great league many years ago," said Jones. "There is a tremendous nucleus of great offensive players here led by Travis Lulay, who I believe is one of the elite quarterbacks in our league. I'm elated to be working with Mike as well as everyone on the offensive staff and I can't wait to get started on building a champion in BC."

Taking on the role of offensive coordinator will be a homecoming of sorts for the former Lions pivot who broke into the CFL in 1997 spending a year on the Leos' practice roster before dressing as a back-up during the 1998 and 1999 campaigns. Following a trade to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2000, Khari embarked on an outstanding five-year run in Blue and Gold rewriting the Bombers record book and setting several club marks including most completions (382) and passing yards (5,334) in a season as well four consecutive seasons throwing for 3,000 yards or more.

In 2001, he enjoyed his finest season as a pro guiding Winnipeg to a 14-4 regular season record including 12 consecutive wins as well as a Grey Cup appearance while being selected as the CFL's Most Outstanding Player. Following stops in Calgary (2004) and Hamilton (2005) as well as two training camps with Edmonton, he joined CBC's CFL broadcast crew in 2006 and before returning to the CFL as a coach, became the Director of Football at National Sports Development based in Calgary.

Are you ready for the arrival of the big man? Is the shopping done? The next couple of days can slide by stress-free for this blogger as everything is wrapped and under the tree. Some deliveries have to be made, but with the exception of one quick stop at the LB, it is over.

Everywhere I go, people are asking what type of dirt I am hearing on the Riders and what if anything is going on as far as free agent signings or guys headed to the US. The answer is ZIP! The Riders have closed offices for the holidays so don't expect any news coming out of there over the next few days. As for Weston Dressler and NFL tryouts, I am starting to wonder how much interest there is seeing other CFL'ers have been working out while he hasn't. I am sure he will get a chance to show his stuff for some team, but if these other guys have been working out, you have to start asking the question. As I've said, I think Weston can play in the NFL and if he gets the right opportunity, he will not be here for the start of next season. The same goes for Kory Sheets. Time will tell.

I will give credit where credit is due and Tony Romo deserves some. The Dallas quarterback, who I still say and will always say is over-rated, came through in the clutch when his team needed him the most. I'm sure many, including myself, were waiting for that one last throw to be intercepted meaning his team's playoff chances were done, but he made the big plays when he had to and as a result, the Cowboys will play for the division title and a playoff spot at home next week. We have all seen how Romo plays in season-ending games that matters so the chances are still there he implodes again, but when the Cowboys needed him yesterday he was there.

I'm still trying to figure out just what the hell I watched from Seattle yesterday. The Seahawks were beaten in their two previous losses by teams that made the plays in the 4th quarter, but while the defense was there all day yesterday against Arizona, the offense played arguably its worst game of the year as they were beaten by the Cardinals. Did you know the Cardinals are 7-1 in their last 8 and have the 2nd best record in the NFL over the last 8 weeks behind only Carolina. The Cardinals? If this win can help them to a win at home over San Fran next week and knock the Niners out of the playoffs I am all for it.

There are teams with dead man walking coaches going into next week. Who will be the first to go----will it be Rex Ryan, Jim Schwartz or Leslie Frazier or will it be someone else. My money is on Schwartz seeing his Lions could not take advantage of a glorious opportunity to win their division with both Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler missing time due to injury. Once Rodgers went down, it should have been a shoo-in for Detroit. NOPE!

Pats coach Malcolm Cameron told us last week on Sportscage he would like to see the team get a big defenceman at the trade deadline, but he acknowledged that will be tough to do. The Pats would seemingly like to add another one or two pieces to take a good run at a division title, but what would the cost be? GM Chad Lang would be declared certified bonkers if he ever traded highly touted forward Sam Steel away and that certainly won't happen, but I'm guessing the player the Pats would want would come at a high price. I don't even know who the marquee player would be amongst teams right now. It would have been Morgan Rielly, but he isn't coming back from Toronto.

Did Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos learn his lesson after last year? He has been awfully quiet in the off-season instead of stealing the show like he did last year with trades that amounted to nothing.

I'm still trying to figure out why or how Graham DeLaet was not a finalist for Canadian male athlete of the year. Who made these selections and why wasn't the Weyburn native on it?

Who would Regina's athlete of the year be? Would it be Chris Getzlaf? How about Mark McMorris? That's a tough call.

The Apple Ad with the kid who makes the holiday movie makes me barf. Call me insensitive if you like.

The Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons believes Hayley Wickenheiser should carry the Canadian flag into the opening ceremonies at the Sochi Olympics. I second that!

At a time when the CFL is seeing a youth movement at the quarterback position with guys like Demarco, Mitchell, Reilly, Collaros and Marsh to name a few, I find it interesting we have defensive minded head coaches like Corey Chamblin, Chris Jones, Rick Campbell and Mike O'Shea in charge of teams. Are we starting to see a changing of the guard there as well?

Unless you are a fan of the Washington State Cougars, you had to love the New Mexico Bowl. What a game! That was one of the best football games I have seen this year.

I need to take a roadie for a Jets game this winter. I also need to start wondering how much longer I can keep stomaching the play of the Edmonton Oilers. Just when I thought they couldn't get any worse, they went out and proved they can against St. Louis. I said to Mrs. Scruffy on Saturday if this keeps up, I may have to go look for another team. Her response was "If you can keep cheering for the Cubs, you can keep cheering for the Oilers." She's right!

Is it just me or is the New Year's Eve party somewhere dying. Are there any big events happening in Regina on December 31. It seems more and more people are content with going to a house party and celebrating the end of the year then by going to a bar or restaurant and paying an inordinate amount of money. Perhaps I am just getting old. It does seem though as if the lustre has been taken off NYE celebrations in the Queen City.

Warmer weather between Christmas and New Years would be appreciated. The forecast says that will happen. Here's hoping!

About Me

This is mainly a Regina sports blog, but you will get information and thoughts from me on a number of topics some that aren't even sports related. You can see me on Access 7 in Regina co-hosting a local one hour sports program called Locker Talk highlighting Regina sports. You can hear me reading afternoon news and sports on 620 CKRM in Regina along with co-hosting "Sportscage" on same station from time to time. I'm also a part of Sask Roughriders broadcast on CKRM and I write feature articles for the Riders on their website Riderville.com.